Lifter mechanism for an automatic shotgun

ABSTRACT

An automatic recoil-actuated shotgun having a spring-loaded magazine in the stock and a carrier in the receiver which lifts the shells into alignment with the barrel to permit the bolt to move the shell into the barrel for firing.

United States Patent 1 3,631,621

[72] Inventor Luigi Tito [56] References Cited S. Barnaba Fondamenta l- P 30100 Venezia, Italy 1,852,411 4/1932 Henry 42/17 211 App]. No. 824,817

2,765,557 10/1956 Roper 42/17 [22] Filed May 15, 1969 2,791,855 5/1957 Simmons 42/17 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 a 4 l7 continuatiomimpm of application sen No. 2,817,917 12/ 1 957 Colhander 2/ 3,156,993 11/1964 Into 42/17 801,094, Feb. 20, 1969, now abandoned. 3 42 17 Thi pp i y 15 Ser. No-

HOl'Sl'Ud 824,817 FOREIGN PATENTS 701,321 12/1953 Great Britain 42/17 1, ,150 4 63 F 89173 54 LIFTER MECHANISM FOR AN AUTOMATIC 329 I I 9 I SHQTGUN Primary ExaminerBen amin A. Borchelt 5 Claims, 17 Drawing Fi Assistant ExaminerC. '1' Jordan [521 US. Cl 42/17 cmwe weaver [51] Int.Cl ..F4lc 11/00, M

F4lc 13/00 ABSTRACT: An automatic recoil-actuated shotgun having a [50] Field 01 Search 42/17; spring-loaded magazine in the Stock and a carrier in the 89/173 receiver which lifts the shells into alignment with the barrel to permit the bolt to move the shell into the barrel for firing.

PATENT-EM" 4:912

SHEET 1 [IF 8 IN VENTOR.

BY WMAMJM PATENTEDJANQIQYZ I 3531.621 snmauFs Fig. 2 /4 PATENTED JAN 41972 SHEET 3 BF 8 PATENTEDJAN M972 31631521 SHEET 4 [IF 8 PATENTED JAI 4 I972 sum s or 'a I I I o PATENTEU JAN 4 I972 SHEET 7 [IF 8 PATENTED JAN 41972 SHEET 8 BF 8 LIFTER MECHANISM FOR AN AUTOMATIC SHOTGUN CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application entitled Shotgun, Ser. No. 80l,094, filed Feb. 20, 1969, now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention has to do with a recoil-operated shotgun with the magazine in the stock.

Automatic recoil-operated shotguns with the magazine in the stock are already known. These devices are complicated, heavy, and from the operating viewpoint their weight distribution limits their handling.

According to the present invention, an automatic recoiloperated shotgun with the magazine in the stock, which is simple in design, functional, light, easy to handle, and easy to maintain, is constructed according to the attached drawings whose illustrations are only given and described by way of example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevation of the shotgun shown partially broken away and in section for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal section of the shotgun in the magazine-loading phase;

FIG. 3 is a partial longitudinal section of the shotgun with the breechblock in position, ready for firing;

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal section of the shotgun with the carrier raising the shell;

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross section taken on the line V-V of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the guard mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the guard mechanism seen from the side opposite that of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the side plate of the guard mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the guard mechanism with the carrier and other parts removed for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 with trigger engaged;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 9 with the trigger released;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the breechblock and the barrel;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the breechblock;

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the breechblock;

FIG. 15 is a transverse section taken on the line XVXV of FIG. 12 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 16 is a rear view of the breechblock; and

FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view of the safety catch of the breechblock.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference character G indicates generally a shotgun constructed in accordance with the invention.

The shotgun G has a barrel B mounted on a receiver R carried by a stock S, all in generally conventional form. The receiver R is hollow and serves as a frame within which the operating mechanism of the gun is mounted.

An L-shaped carrier 2 is positioned within the receiver R at the lower forward portion thereof and has an arm 24 fixedly connected thereto. The arm 24 is rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 22 extending through the receiver R. The carrier 2 is adapted to pivot about the pivot pin 22 so as to be lowered to the position shown in FIG. 2 when filling the magazine and raised to the position shown in FIG. 4 when loading a cartridge into the chamber of the gun. A notch 100 is provided in the forward edge of the vertical wall of the carrier 2 to cooperate with a stop arm mounted on a vertical pivot 101 as can be seen in FIG. 4.

A holding catch 26 is pivotally mounted on the arm 24 by a pivot pin 23. The holding catch 26 is adapted to secure the breechblock 102 in its rearmost position, as illustrated in FIG. I. The holding catch 26 is provided with a longitudinal guide surface 13 for cooperation with a longitudinal guide surface 12 in the receiver R, as illustrated in FIG. 5. A cavity I03 is formed in the holding catch 26 to receiver a push spring II. The push spring 11 is wound onto a rod 104 which engages at its forward end in the cavity 103 of the holding catch 26 and is adapted to swing with the catch 26. The push spring 11 engages at the other end against a block 14 which permits the spring 11 and rod 104 to move angularly. A spring-pressed plunger 105 is mounted in the block 14 and is adapted to provide a spring stop for the holding catch 26.

A magazine 9 is formed in the stock S and opens into the lower portion of the receiver R so that by lowering the carrier 2 as illustrated in FIG. 2, shotgun shells 10 may be inserted into the magazine 9.

The shotgun G is equipped with a breechblock I02 consisting of a main body 106 having oppositely disposed lateral guides 27 and 28 rigidly formed thereon. A firing pin 59 extends angularly through the breechblock 102 without engagement with the other parts thereof. A slide 41 (FIG. 14) extends into the rear end of the main body 106 and has a pair of guides 47 and 48 aligned respectively with the guides 27 and 28. The slide 41 is adapted to move lengthwise in the main body 106 and carries a slide bar 42 which is adapted to engage in a diagonal slot 34 in a lacking lug 5. The slide 41 has a bore 39- to form a seat for a spring 32 for closing the breechblock 102. The slide 41 is further provided with a vertical stop 40 to be engaged by the rear end of the cocking lever 33 mounted in a cylindrical bore 35 extending lengthwise in the main body 106. The movement of the cocking lever 33 is restricted by stop 40 on slide 41 and it is retained in the bore 35 by means of a small spring 36'.

The locking lug 5 slides obliquely on slide bar 42' of slide 41 in an opening 107 in the main body 106. The locking lug 5 extends through an opening 6 in the breech 7 slidably mounted in the receiver R. A lug member 8 protrudes from the main body 106 and is forced into the main body 106 when it slides against the upper level of the breech 7 as the breechblock I02 moves to its forward position. The lug member'8 locks the locking lug 5 in its retracted position within the main body 106 when the breechblock I02 moves out of the breech 7. When the lug member 8 is in its retracted position, by virtue of an inclined section 112 shown in FIG. 2, a stem 113 is also retracted. This frees the locking lug 5 until the lug member8 is lifted, the stem 113 being biased by a spring 114 serving to retain the lug member in advanced position when the forward extremity of the stem 113 blocks the locking lug 5 and prevents its movement from the main body 106 of the breechblock.

Prior to firing'of the gun, the breechblock 102 is in the forward position illustrated in FIG. 2, and the upper section of the breech 7 there maintains the lug member 8 in lowered position. This leaves the locking lug S in retained location since the opening 6 is blocked. After firing, the breechblock 102 and the breech 7 retract in unitary fashion until the slide 41 is engaged by the holding catch 26. At this point the main body 106 of the breechblock, carried by the breech 7, is forced ahead by the spring 16 to advance the locking lug 5 which slides along the inclined plane 42 of the slide 41 resulting in disengagement of the locking lug through the opening 6. The breech 7 therefore advances and, sliding along the main body of the breechblock, frees the lug member 8 which, by virtue of its inclined section 112, blocks the locking lug 5 in position within the breechblock.

In such manner, the locking lug 5 remains within the breechblock until the lug member 8 is lowered, retracting the stem 113 and freeing the locking lug 5 to engage in the opening 6.

A coil spring 32 is positioned along the longitudinal axis of movement of the breechblock I02 engaging at its extreme rear the socket 108 in the receiver R engaging in a cylindrical bore 39 of slide 41 at its forward end. Manual movement of cocking lever 33 rearwardly will slide the slide 41 rearwardly and thus withdraw the locking lug 5 from the opening 6 releasing the breechblock 102 from breech 7 so that the breechblock 102 can be moved rearwardly loading the spring 32 until it is caught by the holding catch 26. A guard 45 is mounted in the receiver R and has a longitudinal central cylindrical opening 109 extending therethrough to allow shotgun shells 10 to pass from and to magazine 9. A plate 44 extends longitudinally of the guard 45 on one side thereof and a trigger guard 46 is arranged in depending relation to the guard 45. A firing pin 59 is mounted in the breechblock 102 and extends at an angle thereto so as to be arranged in a laterally offset position at its rear end as can be seen in FIG. 5

A firing pin actuating mechanism, FIG. 11, includes a trigger 31, hammer 43, and a pair of arms 54, 60 which are hinged together by a pivot pin 53. A pressure spring 55 extends between the arm 54 and the arm 60 along an arcuate path to normally urge the lower ends of the arms 60, 54 outwardly about the pivot pin 53. Arm 60 is secured by a pivot pin 58 to the plate 44 and has a portion thereof engaging a notch 110 in a hammer 43. The arm 54 has an end thereof engaging the trigger 31.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 6, and 7, a catch arm is mounted on a horizontal pivot 21 forwardly of the trigger guard 46 and is biased by a spring 25 so that the forward end forming a catch 37 is normally urged out of the path of shells 10 passing to and from the magazine 9. While loading the magazine 9, hand pressure on the catch arm 15 causes the catch 37 to engage the shells 10 to hold them in the receiver R while the next shell 10 is being moved into position for loading. A trigger assembly retaining element 49 is equipped with an external arm 51 which can be turned by hand to its retaining position and is secured in the guard 45 by a catch 56. The rear end 115 of the guard 45 fits against a related portion 116 of the receiver.

The operation of the shotgun G is as follows: The breechblock 102 is released from the breech 7 by moving cocking lever 33 rearwardly, the continued movement of which moves the breechblock 102 to its rearrnost position where it is caught by the holding catch 26. While being moved rearwardly breechblock 102 compresses its closing spring 32. A shell 10 is loaded into the chamber 42 of the barrel B by first being inserted into the cavity of breech 7 by upward-swinging movement of the carrier 2 which occurs upon release of lock 4 to disengage the stop arm from the notch 100. When a shell 10 is advanced to its forwardmost position, the leading end thereof slides across the lock 4 which forces the latter to rotate about its vertical axis indicated by the phantom line 118 in FIG. 7. This frees the carrier 2 at its edge 119 (FIG. 6). The spring 11 pressing on arm 24 causes the carrier 2 to swing upwardly upon release of the stop arm 20. Simultaneously, the holding catch 26 is withdrawn from the breechblock 102 so that spring 32 can force the breechblock 102 forwardly which pushes the shell 10 into the chamber 42 of the barrel B with the locking lug 5 automatically moving outwardly into opening 6 of the breech 7 to lock the breechblock 102 in its forward position.

The shotgun G is now loaded and ready to fire. By pulling trigger 31, hammer 43 strikes pin 59 causing the percussion cap of the shell 10 to explode and the shot goes off. After the explosion, breechblock 102 due to the locking lug 5, retracts jointly with breech 7 and barrel B and reaches the end of its rearward travel. The breechblock 102 is once more engaged by holding catch 26 which blocks it in this position. The carrier 2 is now also held by the stop arm 20 operated by spring 36 while the breech 7 owing to the effect of pressure spring 16 disengages locking lug 5 and returns to its forward position ejecting by means of ejector 18 during its return the exploded empty shell which was held by extractor 17.

During the last part of the return of breech 7, catch 19 of barrel B moves arm 20 which was held during the recoil phase by spring 36 in a position to hold back the carrier 2 and permits carrier 2, no longer held by lock 4 which was shifted by a shell 10 moving to its forward position, to lift up and to feed another shell 10 into alignment with the chamber 42 of the barrel B. As the breech 7 returns, the catch 19 of the barrel slides on an inclined surface 120 (FIG. 7) of the stop arm 20 with resultant reaction of the spring 36 and movement of the stop arm about its vertical axis 101. As in all shotgun constructions of the recoil variety, the breech 7 is unitary with the barrel B, the spring 16 being secured to the breech by conventional ring means (not shown). After the shell 10 has been inserted into the chamber 42 of barrel B and fired, it once more forces the breechblock 102 to return and the operating cycle repeats itself.

After the last shot has been fired and the last shell 10 ejected, the breechblock 102 is secured by the holding catch 26 and the carrier 2 is secured by lock 4 remaining in the position illustrated in FIG. 1. The continued functioning of the carrier 2 as described above may be prevented either by the stop arm 20 or by the lock 4, After firing of the last shell 10 in the guard, lock 4 engages the edge 119 of the carrier 2 and restrains lifting thereof when the stop arm 20 frees the notch of the carrier. This lack of raising of the carrier 2 hinders the holding catch 26 from release of the breechblock and the latter is retained in withdrawn position. The manual actuation of breechblock 102 is accomplished with cocking lever 33 which extends through the side of the receiver. The cocking lever 33 is connected to a cylindrical rod which slides in bore 35 of the main body 106. The rod pushes against stop 40 of slide 41 and first of all causes the slide 41 to move in the main body 106 and consequently, through slide 42' moves locking lug 5 from opening 6 in breech 7. Then if one continues to press cocking lever 33 against stop 40, the entire breechblock 102 is shifted to the point of contact with holding catch 26. In this manner, the shifting of the breechblock 102 loads the spring 32 so that it is available to return the breechblock 102 to its forward position. The position in the receiver R and the operation of spring 32 constitute one of the characteristic features of the invention. The spring 32 uses its length in bore 39 in slide 41 and acts directly on the breechblock 102 without the need for connecting rods or other complicated and heavy mechanisms which are of great weight and occupy a large volume in conventional guns. Since locking lug 5 and its groove 34 move obliquely on the corresponding oblique flange 42' of the slide 41 to lock and unlock breech 7 and since the bore 39 in the slide 41 is thus within the body of the breechblock 102, locking lug 5 is thus independent and a unit results made up of sturdy and compact parts which are easy to assemble and maintain.

As the breechblock 102 is moving to its rear position, it contacts the upper surface of the hammer 43 forcing it to pivot about its pivot 111 to the position illustrated in FIG. 9 wherein the arm 60 engages the notch to hold it in this position. The spring 55 cooperating with the arms 54, 60 holds the arm 60 in its hammer-retaining position and in this position the trigger 31 is disengaged and free. As soon as the breechblock 102 returns to the forward position, the hammer 43 presses against the arm 60 but through the action of spring 55 arm 54 turns upwardly and engages the trigger 31 with its lower portion, as can be seen in FIG. 10. In this position the gun is ready to fire as soon as the trigger 31 is freed from the safety.

When the trigger 31 is pressed it moves arm 54 upwardly causing the arm 60 to pivot upwardly about its pivot 58, thus releasing the hammer 43. The hammer 43 when disengaged and pushed upward by spring 50 strikes the firing pin 59 causing the shell to explode, as illustrated in FIG. 11. The arm 54 turns about the pivot pin 53 with the arm 60 which turns about the pivot pin 58 with the plate 44. When the trigger 31 initially moves after release, the upper projection 121 pushes against the lower projection 122 of the arm 54 raising the latter. By virtue of the connection of the arm 54 the latter is compelled to turn slightly about its pivot pin 53, the arm 60 pivoting in opposite direction about the pivot pin 58. In this manner, the

arm 60 overcomes the action of the spring 55 and disengages the hammer 43.

After firing, the breechblock, in order to arm the hammer 43, rests on the projection 54' of the arm 54 forcing it to turn in such manner that its projection 122 is disengaged from the projection 121 of the trigger. This prevents the firing of other shells if the trigger accidentally remains depressed.

Once the shot has been fired, breechblock 102 again recoils with breech 7 and barrel B toward the hammer 43 which is forced downwardly to its starting point so that the hammer 43 is once more engaged by the arm 60 and trigger 31 becomes free again. This prevents the possibility of other shots being fired until the breechblock 102 is brought back to its forward position so that the hammer 43 has room to pivot about its pivot 111. As can be seen, the group consisting of the arm 60, arm 54, connecting pivot pin 53, and pressure spring 55 make it possible to transfer the movement of the trigger 31 to the hammer 43 and thus to the firing pin 59 by means of a sure 7 simple function and unencumbered structure.

What is claimed is:

1. A recoil-operated self-loading shotgun comprising:

a stock having a shell-retaining magazine therein;

a receiver operatively connected to the stock, the receiver having a rear end;

a barrel mounted for reciprocation in the receiver and having a breech fixed thereto;

means in said magazine for biasing shells therein in the direction of the barrel;

a guard assembly removably secured in said receiver;

an L-shaped carrier, having a forward end, pivotally mounted in the guard for supporting and transport of a shell from the magazine to the barrel;

means for releasably locking the forward end of the carrier against upward swinging movement;

an arm secured to the carrier and extending rearwardly of the carrier pivot axis;

a holding catch pivotally mounted on said arm;

a breechblock mounted for longitudinal sliding movement in the receiver between forwardmost and rearmost positions and releasably secured in the rearmost position by said holding catch;

means commonly biasing said holding catch upwardly on said arm and contacting said holding catch rearwardly of the pivot axis of said holding catch on said arm and biasing said L-shaped carrier such that its forward end tends to move in a direction of transport of a shell from the magazine to the barrel; and

means responsive to full forward movement of said breech for releasing the locking means releasably locking the forward end of the carrier to permit upward swinging movement and loading of shells by said carrier into said barrel.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a coil spring extends between said breechblock and the rear end of said receiver for returning said breechblock to the forwardmost position.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein a trigger mechanism is mounted in said guard and includes a springbiased hammer and a firing pin in said breechblock adapted to be struck by said hammer.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein an extractor on said breechblock is adapted to grip an expended shell to extract it from the breech.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein an ejector on said breech ejects the shotgun shell extracted by said extractor. 

1. A recoil-operated self-loading shotgun comprising: a stock having a shell-retaining magazine therein; a receiver operatively connected to the stock, the receiver having a rear end; a barrel mounted for reciprocation in the receiver and having a breech fixed thereto; means in said magazine for biasing shells therein in the direction of the barrel; a guard assembly removably secured in said receiver; an L-shaped carrier, having a forward end, pivotally mounted in the guard for supporting and transport of a shell from the magazine to the barrel; means for releasably locking the forward end of the carrier against upward swinging movement; an arm secured to the carrier and extending rearwardly of the carrier pivot axis; a holding catch pivotally mounted on said arm; a breechblock mounted for longitudinal sliding movement in the receiver between forwardmost and rearmost positions and releasably secured in the rearmost position by said holding catch; means commonly biasing said holding catch upwardly on said arm and contacting said holding catch rearwardly of the pivot axis of said holding catch on said arm and biasing said L-shaped carrier such that its forward end tends to move in a direction of transport of a shell from the magazine to the barrel; and means responsive to full forward movement of said breech for releasing the locking means releasably locking the forward end of the carRier to permit upward swinging movement and loading of shells by said carrier into said barrel.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a coil spring extends between said breechblock and the rear end of said receiver for returning said breechblock to the forwardmost position.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein a trigger mechanism is mounted in said guard and includes a spring-biased hammer and a firing pin in said breechblock adapted to be struck by said hammer.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein an extractor on said breechblock is adapted to grip an expended shell to extract it from the breech.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein an ejector on said breech ejects the shotgun shell extracted by said extractor. 